Control
by Erin Aesthetic
Summary: Marinette finally gathered up the courage to tell Adrien how she feels about him. Will he feel the same? Or will her world be shattered into a million pieces?
1. Toasted

_**Before you read, I would like to give credit to tumblr user CreativeCreepie for giving me the idea for this fanfiction. Their video inspired me write it because it was such a wonderful idea and I just couldn't resist! Anywho, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**_

 _ **If you would like to see the video that inspired this fanfic, it is available on CreativeCreepie's YouTube and tumblr.**_

* * *

 _Ladybug stood in front of Chat Noir, looming over him ominously._

 _"My lady, please. You're better than this. You're better than falling under his control. Please don't do this." He plead, his voice trembling as he looked up at her._

 _Ladybug laughs, her voice devoid of all of her usual, familiar lightness. "Oh my sweet, innocent kitty. Don't you see? There's no going back. He's already won."_

* * *

Marinette awoke to a soft voice and light pounding on her chest. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, looking at the flying red dot bouncing on her with tired eyes.

"Marinette! Wake up! You're going to be late!" Shouted the little creature, her sweet small voice blared with a hint of irritation.

"Not now, Tikki. I'm having the greatest dream." Marinette mumbled, lightly waving her away. She was still half asleep and wasn't quite aware of the things going on around her. The only thing on her mind was returning back to the land of dreams where her darling Adrien awaited.

"If you don't get up now, you're going to be late for school!" Tikki shouted again, pulling the covers up off of Marinette. Marinette shot up, looking over at her alarm clock. She only had 15 minutes to get ready and get to school on time.

"Oh crap!" She shouted, launching out of bed and going for her closet. She quickly threw on a pair of jeanes and a shirt with a light sweater, combing out her hair with her fingers so she could put it in the usual pigtails she always wore. She pulled on a pair of sneakers as she bound down the stairs, rushing to get all of her school things together.

"Late again, Marinette?" Her mother asked, chuckling as she held out Marinette's lunch and a piece of toast that she could eat on her walk to school.

"Sorry, mom! I must of slept in. I was up late doing homework and studying for a test so I was really tired last night." She said, happily taking the bag and toast from her mother.

Of course the homework and studying was a lie. She was actually out late doing some nightly patrols as Ladybug with her faithful (well... more like flirtatious) partner, Chat Noir. There wasn't any Akuma around to fight off so most of the night consisted of terrible cat puns and witty pickup lines provided by Chat. Although she would never in a million years ever tell her mother that, of course.

"I'm sure it won't happen again," Her mother says, teasingly. Her mother and Marinette both knew that it would most likely happen another 100 times before the school semester was over. "Have a good day at school.

Marinette gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing out the door. She bounded down the stairs to the bakery, gave her father a quick farewell before rushing out the door. The streets of Paris was already busy, despite how early it was. Cars were already honking and people walked on the sidewalks, while Marinette paid very little attention to her surroundings as she ran to school and ate her toast. She was just about to cross the street when she tripped over her own feet and crashed onto the ground, her toast flying across the street.

"Oh no... My toast." Marinette whispered in sadness as she looked over at it.

"Miss, are you okay?" Someone asked, offering a hand to help her up.

"I'm fine." She says taking the person's hand and rising to her feet, dusting herself off. "Thanks for-" She was cut off when she saw who had helped her, completely frozen in shock.

"It was no problem, although I've never seen someone fall and be more worried about a piece of toast rather than their own wellbeing." Adrien said, chuckling a bit as he looked over at the toast, which had fallen into a puddle and was already being preyed upon by a stray.

"I-I... t-toast..." Marinette stuttered, her heart beating in her chest. Of all people that could have been there at that moment to witness her embarrasing fall, it just had to be Adrien Agreste, the love of her life.

"Hey, you're Marinette. You sit behind me in school, right?" Adrien asked, smiling a bit. Marinette only nodded, unable to form words to speak. He only laughed at her shy behavior, finding it kind of cute.

"Well, since we're both going to the same place, would you mind if I walked with you?" He asks, putting his hand in his pockets and looking at her sheepishly. Marinette only stood there, frozen in her fear of speaking to him.

"Say yes, Marinette!" Tikki's small voice came from her bag, making sure to be quiet enough so only Marinette could hear.

"S-sure!" Marinette practically shouted, her nerves and mind screaming at her for acting so weird around him.

Adrien gave her a small smile and walked to her side, walking towards the school. "Say something." Tikki whispered yet again. Marinette looked down beside her at her bag, seeing Tikki's encouraging look. She nodded slightly and turned to Adrien, trying find the words to say.

"Th-thanks for helping my toast! I mean me! Argh!" Marinette stuttered, mentally kicking herself for existing. She wished Alya was there to help her speak to him and not seem like an idiot.

Adrien only laughed, shaking his head a bit. "It's my pleasure. What kind of gentleman would I be if I just left you there?" He asked, smiling over at her.

His smile made her melt and only made her more nervous than she already was. She sat there awkwardly, looking around her surroundings in an attempt to try and pretend she wasn't walking alone with him so she could calm her nerves. After a few moments of silence, she finally got the courage to speak.

"So, why are you late?" Marinette asked, trying to come off casual.

"Well, I accidentally slept in. I was up late doing homework and such so I didn't get to go to bed until around 1 in the morning." He says, shrugging a bit.

"That's so weird. I didn't go to bed until around 1 either." She says, although her reason was way different than his (Or so she thought).

"That is quite a coincidence." He says with a laugh as they arrived at the school. The walk with him seemed to end so fast. She wished she could have spent a little more time alone with him.

As she was walking, Marinette caught the eye of Alya, who's mouth was hung open in shock when she saw Marinette walking with Adrien. Marinette gave her a sheepish smile and waved at her, turning back to Adrien.

"Thanks again for helping me." She said again, smiling a bit.

Adrien gave her a quick nod of the head and she turned on her heel, walking toward her best friend. While Adrien walked to his friend, Nino.

"Girl, were you just walking with the one boy you can barely breathe around or do I need to get my eyes checked?" Alya asked in disbelief.

"Come on. We're going to be late." Marinette said with a wide smile, pulling her friend by the arm. She knew she'd be bombarded with many questions later. She wouldn't even be surprised if Alya made her write a 10 paged, highly detailed report on everything that happed on the car ride. She chuckled to herself at the thought and gave Adrien one more quick glance before walking into the school.


	2. Clockblocked

"So spill. What went down this morning?" Alya asked, crossing her arms and awaiting an explanation.

Marinette knew she wouldn't be able to escape Alya's questioning and she didn't really want to. She wanted her best friend to know everything about her escapades with Adrien so she could prepare herself for the next time he just suddenly decides to walk her to school.

"Well, nothing really note worthy happened, to be completely honest." Marinette said with a shrug, unwrapping her lunch from its foil.

"It didn't look like nothing! Come on! Tell me." Alya insisted, looking very interested in the topic. Marinette laughed at the look on her face, shaking her head a bit.

"Fine, fine! I'll tell you. I was eating toast and walk-"

"Oh god. You were eating AND walking. This isn't gonna end well." Alya groaned.

"Oh hush! Do you want me to tell you or not?" Marinette asked, crossing her arms.

"Alright, alright. Continue, oh righteous one." Alya teased, bowing at her friend.

While the girls talked, Adrien had his eye on Marinette, his gaze hardly ever leaving her for more than a few moments. Nino noticed this and lightly snapped his fingers in front of Adrien's face.

"Hello. Earth to Adrien. Dude, you okay? You're kinda staring." Nino says, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Adrien stuttered, chuckling nervously. "Was I really staring?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Oh yeah. Hardcore. I thought you'd burn a hole through Marinette's face because your look was so intense." Nino said, taking another bite of his sandwich. "Why the sudden interest in Marinette anyways?"

"She looks familiar. I don't know why." He says, looking back at the girl as she laughed with her friend.

"Maybe that's because she sits behind you like everyday in class." Nino said sarcastically, causing Adrien to shoot him a friendly glare. Nino threw his hands up in response.

"Whatever, man. She just reminds me of someone." Adrien says, trying hard to put his finger on it.

"Why don't you go talk to her? Maybe that will give you some clues." Nino suggests as he eats the rest of his lunch, eyeing Adrien's. Marinette soon noticed that Adrien was staring at her and quickly looked away, her face turning a bright red.

"That would be a good idea if she could even say two words to me before choking up." Adrien sighed, turning back to Nino.

"Just do it man. You won't get anywhere if you don't start somewhere." He says, still looking at Adrien's hardly touched lunch.

"Yeah. You're right. I'm gonna go talk to her." Adrien says, standing up and turning to walk to Marinette.

"Adrien, wait!" Nino shouts, stopping Adrien right in his tracks.

Adrien quickly turned back to Nino, worried that something was wrong. "What?!"

"Err... You gonna eat that?" Nino asks, pointing at his lunch. Adrien chuckled and motioned toward it.

"Have at it man." He says, turning back towards Marinette and walking to her.

Marinette froze when she saw Adrien turn toward her, her cheeks lighting up like someone had lit a fire on her face.

"Marinette, are you okay? You look like you're about to faint. Do you need to go lay down?" Alya asks, a worried look on her face.

"He's coming over here." Marinette squeaks out, trying to keep her breathing calm. "What do I do?"

"Relax. Just keep breathing. I'll try and do the talking for you." Alya says, chuckling a bit at her friend's flusteredness.

Adrien walked the distance of the courtyard to where Marinette was, suddenly realizing he had no idea what he'd even say to her. He didn't have time to make a plan before his legs started moving. He was just about to approach her when he was suddenly stopped by a short blonde girl.

"Adrien!" She squealed loudly, throwing her arms around him. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Have you been avoiding me? No, of course you haven't. That's so silly to even think was possible! You absolutely adore me way to much to even want to avoid me!"

"C-Chloe!" Adrien exclaimed in shock, trying to peel her arms off of him.

"So, do you want to hang out later? Daddy is busy today so we could have the house all to ourselves!" Chloe says, finally letting him go.

"Sorry, Chloe. I'm busy later. Maybe some other time." He says, trying to walk past her to go to Marinette.

Chloe huffs, crossing her arms and trying not to look too fazed by the rejection. "What can be more important than me?" She asks, but Adrien wasn't listening.

Just as Adrien was about to approach Marinette, the bell rang, signifying that lunch was over. He watched as Marinette and Alya stood and walked back to class. He sighed, looking down at the ground.

"So, did you get to talk to her?" Nino asks, walking up behind him.

"No. Chloe stopped me before I could even approach her." He says, watching as Marinette walked into the school.

"Bummer, dude. Oh well, there's always next time, right?" Nino says, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Come on. Don't wanna be late for class." Adrien nodded, walking by Nino's side as they entered the school.

"Ugh, she's just so annoying! Just as Adrien was about to come talk to me, she just HAD to swoop in and stop him. Why is she even interested in him in the first place?! She knows nothing about him! Besides, like he would ever be interested in a girl like her! He's too kind-hearted, sweet, nice, funny, dreamy... And well, Chloe is the exact opposite!" Marinette ranted to Tikki.

Tikki sat on top of Marinette's computer, listening quietly to Marinette's emotional outburst. Of course, she already talked about it more than enough to Alya on the walk home, but she was still annoyed with it when she got to her room, so now Tikki had to listen. Plus, there were some points that she couldn't make in front of her best friend.

"I bet if she knew I was Ladybug, she'd learn to respect me a lot more than she does now! Adrien would probably even adore me!" Marinette says, throwing herself on her bed.

"Marinette, aren't you being a bit rash? Certainly if Adrien wanted to talk to you today then he'll try again tomorrow!" Tikki said encouragingly. Her big round eyes full of hope.

"You're right, Tikki. Sorry that you had to listen to me rant." Marinette says, walking over to her and sitting at the computer chair.

"That's okay! I don't mind. I'm always here to help!" She says smiling cutely. Marinette smiled and looked at the clock, stretching a bit.

"Tikki, do you feel like doing patrol tonight or should we leave that to Chat?" She asks, leaning back.

"I'm sure Chat Noir can handle things on his own. Although, I'm sure he'll miss you. He might even make extra puns to make up for the lost moments." Tikki teased, chuckling bit.

Marinette groaned, rolling her eyes. "You're right. We should probably just go out for a little bit. That won't hurt anything." She says, standing up.

"You ready?" She asks, looking back at the small red creature floating by her side.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Tikki says cheerfully.

"Alright. Tikki, transform me!"


	3. Beehind Schedule

_**Hey guys! I would like to thank you all for all of your positive feedback so far! I'm glad you are liking my story! I didn't anticipate for this chapter to be as long as it is, but oh well! The more the better. Anywho, please enjoy this chapter and I look forward to your feedback!**_

* * *

Adrien walked to his house, his eyes on the ground. He had some modeling things to do when he got home and he really didn't want to do it. He just wanted to go to his room and relax. Maybe even go out on patrol with his favorite lady. As Adrien entered his home, he was greeted by Nathalie, his father's assistant.

"You're home late, Adrien. Did something make you drag behind schedule?" She asks, looking up at him over her glasses.

"No. I was just enjoying the freedom I had before I was dragged to the photo shoot scheduled today." Adrien said, walking past her and going to the stairs.

"Ah, about that," She says, looking down at her tablet. Adrien froze in place and turned toward her, afraid that something was wrong.

"Your father feels that you could use a break. He rescheduled today's photo shoot for next week. You have the rest of the week to yourself." She says, looking back up at him with a faint smile on her face.

Adrien smiled widely as his heart swell up. His father actually did that? For him? Was something wrong? Did he have other plans? Was there a price he had to pay for this sweet, sweet freedom?

"What's the catch?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at Nathalie.

"No catch, no hidden plan, no nothing. You deserve some time to yourself, Adrien." She says, walking to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just make sure to try more than your best at next week's photo shoot. Prove to your father that you deserve more time to yourself like this."

Adrien smiled more, spontaneously hugging her tightly. He quickly let her go, smoothing out the creases he made on her suit.

"Err... Sorry. Uh, thanks again!" He says, running up the stairs. As soon as he got to his room, Plagg shuffled around in his bag, flying out of it.

"It's stuffy in there! Why can't you keep me somewhere that isn't so clustered?" He asks, annoyed and irritated.

"Plagg, we've already had this conversation. The only other place I can keep you is my shirt pocket and I don't wanna risk hurting you." Adrien says, putting his bag down on his desk.

Plagg huffed and sat on Adrien's bed, pulling out some cheese and munching on it. Adrien rolled his eyes and pulled out his school tablet, starting on his homework.

"We're going on patrol after I'm done with my homework so you better stuff yourself up with that Camembert of yours." Adrien says, causing Plagg to let out a displeased groan.

"Can't we just go on patrol some other time? I'm all worn out from last night." He says, yawning.

"Worn out? We didn't even do anything." Adrien says, turning to the black, cat like creature.

"Exactly. I got worn out by being worn by you all night." He retorted, laying back and stretching out his limbs.

Adrien rolled his eyes and quickly finished his homework, putting all his stuff away.

"Break time's over. Plagg, transform me!" Adrien says, holding out his ring for Plagg. Plagg tried to resist the whirlwind by pulling on the blanket, but he got sucked into the ring, giving Adrien the power of Chat Noir.

Adrien ran two fingers over his eyes, his mask forming across his face and hiding his identity. He then ran his hand through his hair, two small cat ears appearing on top of his head. His body was soon covered with the black suit of Chat Noir and his tail extended out of his waist, flying freely behind him. He scratched at the air, feeling power surge through his body.

"I'll never get over this feeling!" He says, chuckling a bit as he leaped out of his window to look for his darling Lady.

"Where is he? He ought to have been here by now." Ladybug says, looking around the rooftop that Chat Noir and her always met at. She had been waiting for him to arrive for what felt like forever and yet he still hadn't shown up. She was starting to grow worried.

"Well isn't this just a purr-fect sight." Chat says, hanging off a railing above her by his tail so he could look down at Ladybug, their faces close together. "If I hadn't known any better, I'd say you were worried about me."

"As if. I was just wondering what was taking you so long and wasting my time." She says, crossing her arms.

"Meowch, my lady. Harsh words coming from such a beautiful person. It reminds me of a rose. It's thorny brush protecting the beautiful and delicate flower within." He says smoothly, holding out a red rose in full bloom for her.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and pushed his face away, causing him to fall from the railing. "We don't have time for this, Chat. We need to start our patrol before it gets dark." She says, walking to the edge of the rooftop.

"Perhaps another time, then." He says, tucking the flower behind her ear.

Ladybug didn't object to the sweet gesture and left the rose in her hair. She smirked a bit and jumped from the rooftop, using her yo-yo to launch herself above the rooftops so she could get a better view of Paris. Chat followed close behind her, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He made sure to keep her in sight in case something went wrong.

Ladybug soon landed to look around as Chat stopped beside her, panting a bit. Ladybug looked focused and concentrated on her surroundings. Soon, she stood up straight, looking at a certain direction.

"I think we have an Akuma loose." She says, turning to Chat with a smile. He chuckled at her look, gesturing for her to lead the way.

"Beautiful ladies first." He said, giving her a flirty grin. She rolled her eyes and pulled him close to her, twirling around her yo-yo.

"Woah. At least let me take you out to dinner first, my lady." Chat teased, holding her close.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and flung her yo-yo forward, pulling them to the area she sensed the Akuma.

"I wonder what type of Akuma we will be facing today. Robot? Time lord? Crazy weather lady?" Chat Noir listed, although Ladybug wasn't listening. She was busy scanning the area. She could feel the Akuma, but she couldn't pinpoint where it was. Just as Ladybug was about to say something, she heard a scream, causing her and Chat Noir to snap their heads in that direction.

Out in the distance, there was a faint buzzing that seemed to grow louder each second. It was like some sort of insect was buzzing around them. Ladybug got into fighting stance, preparing herself for what was coming around the corner. Chat Noir also got into stance, his claws sharp and ready to move the moment Ladybug gave the signal.

After a moment, tiny little dots started to fly from around the corner. It started as just a few, but soon grew until there were waves of them. Right in the center was a woman dressed like a bee with her hair like a beehive. Chat and Ladybug gasped, realizing that all the tiny specks flying around the woman were bees.

"B-bees?!" Ladybug exclaimed, her face twisting in fear. "I'm allergic to bees!"

Chat pulled her close, extending his baton. "Don't worry, bugaboo, I'll make sure none of the bees even come near you." He says, winking down at her.

Ladybug chuckled a bit, pushing away from him. She flung out her yo-yo, catching it on a lamp post and flying to it to get closer to the Akuma.

"Ladybug! Chat Noir! How nice of you to come! I've been waiting for you." The Akuma says, smirking down at them. A purple mask like thing appeared in front of her face as Hawkmoth spoke to her, demanding their miraculous. The Akuma nodded and turned back to the fighting duo, glaring at them.

"Your time is up. By order of the Queen, ATTACK!" She shouts, pointing her finger at Ladybug. She gasped as hundreds of bees came flying at her. Chat grabbed her by the hand and jumped out of the way as the swarm hit the ground.

"You alright, Ladybug?" He asks, letting her go to check if she got stung.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." She says, pushing him away and looking back at Queen Bee.

"You need to get out of here. You could get stung." He says, getting in fighting stance. A swarm of bees came at him and he twirled his baton, blowing them away. Ladybug did the same with her yo-yo, pressing her back to his so they would both be protected.

"I can't leave you here to fight on your own. If I did that, what kind of superhero would I be?" She says as more bees came swarming at her. Suddenly, a swarm of bees came down on them from above like a hammer, causing Ladybug and Chat Noir to jump away from each other. Ladybug looked back to where she was standing to check on Chat, but she was unable to see through the storm of bees.

"Chat!" She calls, her heart pounding in her chest in fear of losing her partner. "Chat, say something!"

Queen Bee lets out a victorious laugh, setting her sights on Ladybug. "Looks like the kitty cat is no match for my swarm. Come, my bee-utiful babies. Take Ladybug in your grasp and bring me her miraculous!"

Ladybug glares at Queen Bee, her grip on her yo-yo tightening. "I won't let you get away with this!" She shouts, running at the swarm. She took a chance and jumped on top of the swarm that was coming at her, surprised when she landed on top of it as if she were standing on solid ground. She took this as an advantage and ran toward the center where Queen Bee was located. As she neared, she noticed a shiny ring glowing on her finger. It was in the shape of a bee.

'That must be where the Akuma is located!' She thought. Ladybug was so focused on the location of the Akuma, she didn't notice the swarm that was coming at her from behind.

"Ladybug, look out!" Someone shouted. Before Ladybug could react, she was tackled off the swarm and hit the ground, the person who saved her looming over her protectively.

"My lady, if this is how you are going to react if something bad happens to me, I'm going to have to try harder not to get hurt." Chat says, another smug smile on his face.

"Chat?! You're okay?! Where did you go?" Ladybug asks, a twinge of anger coming over her.

"I was being chased by bees. Did you really think I'd stick around for that? I had to run to lose them." He says, pulling her to her feet.

"Regardless, don't leave me without telling me." She says, twirling her yo-yo. "The swarm seems to be on a frenzy whenever I'm around them. I can't get close to her without the swarm closing in on me."

Chat was about to say something until he looked at her. She was so beautiful. The way she breathed, the way she moved. It was so natural and so beautiful. Her hair flowed through the wind, the dark color bringing out the color of the rose. The rose...

"That's it! Ladybug, get rid of the rose." Chat says.

"What? Why? The rose is fine." She says, really not wanting to give it up. He gave it to her and even though she didn't want to admit it, she liked the sweet gesture.

"They're attracted to the smell of the rose. That's why they're going crazy around you. Don't worry, princess. I'll get you a better one to replace this one." He says, flirtingly, lightly plucking the rose from her hair and tossing it away from them. Bees had already swarmed the rose before it even hit the ground.

"Nice call, kitty." Ladybug says, causing Chat to smile at the praise. "I think it's time we end this. Lucky Charm!" She shouts, tossing her yo-yo in the air. A bright light emitted from her yo-yo and as the light faded, a big pump looking thing fell. She caught it, looking it over.

"A smoke pumper?" She asks, looking around for what she could use it for. As she was looking, her sight caught hold of Chat's baton, giving her an idea.

"I got it! Chat, twirl your baton as fast as you can!" She says, looking around at all the bees. Chat nodded and started to twirl his baton, creating a current of air like a fan would. She quickly started to pump the smoke, the air current blowing the smoke all around. As the smoke started to spread, the bees started to drop. One by one, swarm by swarm, the bees started to fall asleep.

"It's working!" Chat exclaimed, laughing. Ladybug smiled and continued pumping.

"No! My babies! Wake up! Wake up!" Queen Bee shouted as the bees around her started to fall. Soon, the bees holding her up fell asleep beneath her and dropped, causing her to fall as well. She let out a scream and Chat quickly leaped for her, catching her and landing safely on the ground.

"Chat! Her ring has the Akuma in it!" Ladybug shouts.

"Got it!" Chat shouted back, taking the ring from Queen Bee and smashing it on the ground. As soon as the ring shattered on the ground, a small butterfly emerged from within it, fluttering around.

"Your rein of terror is over, little Akuma," Ladybug says, running her finger against the front of her yo-yo, the top of it opening up. "I'm freeing you from evil!" She throws her yo-yo towards the Akuma, catching it in her yo-yo. As the yo-yo returned to her, the capsule closed and she caught in her hand, smiling. "Gotcha!" She holds the yo-yo out in front of her and taps on it, the wings opening and freeing the small white butterfly.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly." She says, watching the butterfly fly away. She takes the smoke pump and tosses it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" She shouts, watching as everything returns to normal before her eyes. The damage Queen Bee did disappeared along with the bees, Queen Bee turning back to her normal self and her ring fixing itself.

"W-what's going on? What am I doing here?" Asks the beekeeper, confused and disoriented.

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat Noir says in unison, fist bumping each other. As Chat Noir was going to help the beekeeper, he caught sight of the rose he had given to Ladybug laying on the ground. He walked over to it and gently picked it up, smiling down at it. Ladybug had just finished helping the beekeeper when Chat approached her, holding a rose gently.

"I believe this belongs to you, my lady." He says, placing the rose back into her hair. She only chuckled, shaking her head.

"You're such a silly kitty." She says, ruffling his hair and making sure to scratch behind his ears. Chat purred quietly, but his happiness was soon interrupted by the beeping of Ladybug's earrings, signifying her detransformation was nearing.

"Uh oh. Gotta run. See you later." She says, twirling her yo-yo so she could launch it at a nearby rooftop.

"Wait! Ladybug... Maybe... You could stay this time? I promise I won't tell anyone who you are. You can trust me." Chat says, his eyes full of hope.

"Chat... You know I can't. Our identities must remain a secret. Even to each other." She says, sighing a bit. Chat only nodded, his ears pointing down in a small pout.

"It's safer this way, Chat. Maybe one day we can tell each other who we are, but until then-"

"Yeah... I know." He says, looking down at the ground.

Ladybugs lips pursed together. She didn't like seeing Chat like this. She wished she could tell him, but what would happen if she did? Was she ready to tell him? Was she ready to know who was behind the mask of the flirtatious Chat Noir? Her thoughts were interrupted by another beep of her earrings.

"Until then, my kitty." She says, throwing her yo-yo and flying away.

"Until then... My Ladybug." Chat mumbles, watching her until she flew out of sight.


	4. Chat-astrophic Headline

Ladybug slipped through the room of her bedroom just as she detransformed, sighing in relief. Tikki landed in Marinette's hands tiredly.

"You did a great job today, Tikki." Marinette says, grabbing a box of cookies and going to her bed.

"So did you, Marinette!" Tikki says tiredly, eyeing the box of cookies. Marinette chuckled and opened the box, handing Tikki her most favorite type of cookie; chocolate chip.

While Tikki munched on her cookie, Marinette laid back in her bed and checked her phone. No doubt Alya would have already uploaded today's details to the Ladyblog. Nothing could've prepared her for the headlining story. The title alone was enough to make Marinette want to scream.

"LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR: A START OF A PURR-FECT RELATIONSHIP?! THAT'S NOT EVEN A GOOD PUN!" Marinette shouted in shock. She read the article more, her mouth hung open in shock.

There were several pictures caught in many different angles of her and Chat Noir. Some where of him giving her the rose and others were of when Chat had tackled her off the swarm of bees to save her. By the way the pictures were caught, it did look like they were a couple.

"Those are good pictures. Whoever took them must be a great photographer." Tikki teases, looking at the pictures from over Marinette's shoulder.

"Not funny." She grumbles, closing out the window and throwing her phone to the side.

"Oh, come on, Marinette. Being in a relationship with Chat Noir isn't as bad as it sounds." Tikki says, trying to comfort her.

"It's not about whether the idea sounds good or not. I don't like Chat that way. I'm in love with Adrien." She says, crossing her arms. Tikki sighed a bit and hugged Marinette's finger comfortingly. Marinette smiled down at her small friend. She rubbed her thumb over the top of Tikki's head gently.

"You'll figure everything out eventually, Marinette. You always do." She says, looking up at her with big hopeful eyes.

"Yeah. You're right." Marinette mumbles, holding up her Kwami. "Well, we should get to bed now. School is no doubt going to be... a little stressful."

Tikki nodded and flew over to the lamp to turn off the light while Marinette got snuggled into bed.

"Goodnight, Tikki."

"Goodnight, Marinette." Tikki says softly, turning off the lamp and plunging the room into darkness.

"Can you believe it, Marinette?! Chat Noir and Ladybug are finally official! Ohhhh, it couldn't get any better than this!" Alya squealed excitedly as she showed off her prints of images caught of Ladybug and Chat together.

"Those pictures don't really prove much, Alya. You know how flirtatious Chat Noir is towards Ladybug. This could have been just another one of those moments." Marinette says, trying hard to not go off about how Chat and her were NOT dating. That they were actually far from dating as dating could get.

"But this time is different! Ladybug accepted his advances! Plus, look! Look at her eyes! They're full of love and adoration!" Alya insists, practically shoving the prints in Marinette's face.

"Or they're full of exhaustion and irritation." She mumbles, pushing the incriminating pictures away.

Alya huffed, fixing the pictures so they were in a neat pile before carefully putting them back into the envelope she took them out of.

"Why are you being such a Debbie Downer about this? Could it be that you're jealous that Ladybug got Chat Noir and you didn't?" Alya asks in a teasing manner. Marinette's face instantly flushed red, shaking her head furiously.

"No! That's not it! Not even close!" Marinette stammers.

"Oh. Then could it be that you're jealous of Chat and want Ladybug to yourself?" She says, giving Marinette a teasing look.

That statement caused Marinette to laugh. Hard. Tears were actually falling from her eyes because she was laughing so hard. She couldn't believe that her friend was actually implying that she was in love with her superhero alias.

"Marinette, it really wasn't that funny." Alya says, starting to grow worried about her friend.

"S-sorry..." She mumbles, giggling a bit. "But no. I'm not jealous of either of them." Marinette says, finally calming down.

"Even if they're not dating, they will eventually. I can just feel it." Alya says, holding the envelope of pictures close to her chest.

"Whatever you say, Alya." Marinette says, knowing she would never date Chat. Never in a million years. Adrien overheard their conversation and turned around.

"You seem to not like Chat Noir." Adrien says, looking at Marinette. Marinette froze, not sure what to say back. Of course she didn't like Chat Noir! She liked him.

"I-It's not that I don't like him! I-It's just... he... he's a little too flirtatious. Also he's egotistical, doesn't think before he acts or speaks. Like ever. And he also is kind of an airhead sometimes." Marinette says, ranting a little bit about all the things she didn't like about Chat.

"Huh. Airhead. Haven't heard that one before." Adrien says, thinking her words over. He didn't think he was that that flirtatious. Yeah, sometimes he acts completely on impulse, but he wouldn't say he was an airhead. Although, something about the way she talked about him seemed familiar. He had to get to know her better or this not knowing would eat at him alive.

"Anyways, I was wondering. Would you like to hangout sometime? Maybe go to a movie or do homework together or something?" Adrien asks, scratching the back of his neck.

Marinette's heart nearly stopped. Was Adrien... Asking her out? On a date? A real, ACTUAL date? She was frozen in shock, not knowing what to say or act.

"She'd love to. I'm pretty sure she's free this weekend." Alya spoke up for her friend, coming to her rescue. Adrien looked over at Alya, smiling widely before turning back to Marinette who's face was bright red like a tomato.

"Great. I guess I'll text you to see when your free." He says, turning back around in his chair.

Marinette turned to Alya who was smiling widely. Her face was frozen in a deer-in-the-headlights look.

"W-What just happened?" Marinette asked, needing to hear it out loud in case she was dreaming.

"Adrien Agreste, the love of your life, just asked you out." Alya responded in a low whisper, giggling a bit.

"Oh my god..." Marinette whispered back in disbelief. She turned to face Adrien, her cheeks still tomato red. "Oh my god." She repeated, covering her face with her hands.

"I have a date with Adrien Agreste."


	5. Ear-ratic Heart

"Oh my god... Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." Marinette repeated. She was having a panic attack and anyone in a 30 foot radius could tell. She had pacing around and breathing erratically since the very moment Adrien asked her to "hang out".

"Marinette, you really need to calm down. Your parents might take you to the loony bin if you keep acting like this." Alya says, forcing Marinette to sit down on her bed.

"Calm down? How can I?! THE Adrien Agreste just asked me to hang out with him. Alone. At a movie quite possibly. How do you expect me to calm down?!" Marinette shouts. Her mind was racing a million miles a second. She could hardly believe that Adrien, the Adrien she's been in love with for so long, wanted to hang out with her. Even if it wasn't specifically a date, it had to count didn't it?

"What am I going to wear? Where are we going to go? Do I dress casual or formal? HOW WILL I EVEN TALK TO HIM?!" Marinette fell back on her bed, feeling more frightened than excited the more she thought about it.

"Mari, relax. Take a breather, okay? Your so called "date" with Adrien isn't even for a couple more days. You have plenty of time to talk about it until then." Alya says, smoothing out her best friend's hair in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Besides, didn't he say he was going to text you to sort all of this out anyways?"

Alya quickly regretted saying this. The moment those words had left her lips, Marinette shot straight up like an arrow, her wide eyes staring straight into Alya's very soul as she remembered that very important detail. Marinette then jumped up and ran to her bag, shuffling through it to find her phone. Unable to find it, Marinette dumped her entire bag onto her bed, throwing things around to find it. She grew more frustrated as she shifted through the numerous books and papers.

"Ugh! It's not here!" Marinette said with a hint of anger in her voice. Just then, she heard a faint buzzing noise from behind her. She looked at Alya who was staring at her with concern before the both toward the source of the buzzing. It was Marinette's phone, resting on the table where she had left it when they got to her room. She always put it there so she wouldn't lose it. Big help that was. On the phone was a number she didn't recognize.

"Do you think..?" Marinette asked softly to Alya.

"Why are you asking me?! Answer it!" Alya says, pushing Marinette towards it.

Marinette gently picked up the still buzzing phone and held it up to her ear. "Er.. Hello?" She squeaks.

"Uh, hello? Is this Marinette's phone?" The voice asks. She'd know this voice anywhere. The voice of her beloved Adrien.

"Y-y-yes! Th-this is she! Who may this b-be?" She asks, trying to play it cool (spoiler alert: she was failing).

"Oh hey. It's Adrien. Adrien Agreste. Nico gave me your number." Adrien says, a smile could be heard in his voice.

"Oh hello!" Marinette responds a little too excitedly, causing Alya to facepalm. "Wh-what's up, Adrien?"

"Just breathe, Marinette!" Alya mouths as she silently listens to the conversation. Marinette nods and takes a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Adrien isn't really here. She'll just pretend that she's talking to Alya so she won't choke up.

"I just wanted to make sure we were still going to hang out this weekend. I was thinking you, Alya, Nico, and I could all hang out on Friday after school and then Saturday you and I could just hang out. Just us two, you know?" Adrien asked. He was rambling a bit, but Marinette didn't mind. She thought anything and everything about him was absolutely adorable.

"Yeah. Sure. Sounds good. Anything special in mind for us to do Saturday?" She asks.

"Not really. I was thinking maybe we could just hang out and talk. Get to know one another." He says, causing Marinette to smile widely.

"Alright. That sounds great! So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Marinette says, trying to hold in a scream of delight.

"Uh, yeah. See you later, Marinette." He replies.

"See ya, Adrien." Marinette hung up the phone, holding it close to her chest.

"Oh my god. You actually just had a conversation with Adrien without choking up! I'm so proud of you!" Alya teases.

"Yeah.." Marinette responds, clearly in a daze. Alya chuckles and ruffles her hair.

"Alright, Mari. I got to get home. Don't go dying on me, kay?" Alya says, hopping off Marinette's bed and grabbing her things. "See ya later, Marinette."

Snapping out of her daze, Marinette walked Alya out before returning to her room. Tikki had flew out of her hiding spot and was now resting on Marinette's messy bed. Marinette smiled at her friend, sitting on the floor by her bed so she could be at eye level with the small Kwami.

"Hey, Tikki. You ready to go for patrol?" Marinette asked, stroking Tikki's chin.

"I'm ready if you are, Mari." She replies cheerfully, nudging into Marinette's finger.

Marinette smiles and stands, locking eyes with the small red creature. "Tikki, transform me!"


End file.
